Sinaloa drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman arrested in Mexico

By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times

Posted:
02/23/2014 12:02:08 AM MST

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman sits inside a federal police helicopter at a navy hanger in Mexico City, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014. The world's most-wanted drug lord, Guzman, arrived at the Mexico City airport after his arrest early Saturday and was being taken directly to prison, said Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

The world's most wanted reputed drug kingpin, Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman — who was indicted in El Paso — was arrested Saturday morning in a hotel in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexican and U.S. officials said.

Guzman is the reputed chief of the Sinaloa drug cartel, which is considered among the most aggressive of the cartels in Mexico.

REPORTER

Diana Washington Valdez

The Sinaloa drug cartel battled violently with the Juárez drug cartel for control the lucrative Juárez-El Paso corridor. That battle was one of the bloodiest in Mexico and made Juárez one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

The war claimed more than 10,000 people since 2008. As a result of the violence, many Juárez residents chose to flee the city and a significant number moved to El Paso.

When former Mexican President Felipe Calderón took office in 2006, he deployed thousands of soldiers to drug hot spots, including Juárez. Since then, more than 70,000 people in Mexico have been killed in drug violence, the Associated Press reports.

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Violence in Juárez has declined because several key figures in the drug underworld were arrested — some of whom have been convicted in El Paso. The Sinaloa drug cartel has members working in the El Paso area.

Guzman was arrested without incident just before 7 a.m. at a hotel in Mazatlán, a popular tourist area in northwest Mexico.

As part of the operation that lasted months, Mexican authorities arrested 13 other people, and seized 97 rifles, 36 handguns, two grenade launchers, one rocket launcher, 43 vehicles of which 19 were armored, 16 houses and four ranches, according to Mexico's attorney general.

The Associated Press reported that Guzman, 56, was found at the hotel with an unidentified woman.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshal's Service were heavily involved in working with Mexican authorities to capture Guzman, Robert Almonte, U.S. marshal of the Western District of Texas, said Saturday.

Almonte said his office assisted Mexican authorities by providing intelligence. Although he did not elaborate, Almonte said there were several high-ranking cartel members arrested in the U.S. who provided information about Guzman. Some of those arrests, he said, were made recently and helped lead to Guzman's arrest.

"This should silence the critics of Mexico's effort to counter the cartel. This is kudos to Mexican law enforcement," Almonte said.

Although U.S. authorities helped, Mexican authorities deserve all the credit for Guzman's arrest, Almonte said.

"We, U.S. marshals and DEA, did not arrest 'Chapo' Guzman, we provided information that assisted Mexican authorities in arresting him," he said.

Almonte said Guzman's arrest is great news for Mexico, the U.S. and even for Europe, where Guzman's drug empire stretches, Almonte said.

"He saw himself taking over the world, being the number one, the drug cartel leader in the entire world," Almonte said. "It's extremely significant that we took him off the grid."

No shots were fired when Guzman was arrested. Mexican federal officials said they transported Guzman to Mexico City to confirm his identity through fingerprints and DNA.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said: "Today's apprehension of Joaquin 'Chapo' Guzman Loera by Mexican authorities is a landmark achievement, and a victory for the citizens of both Mexico and the United States. Guzman was one of the world's most wanted men and the alleged head of a drug-running empire that spans continents. The criminal activity Guzman allegedly directed contributed to the death and destruction of millions of lives across the globe through drug addiction, violence, and corruption."

Frank Evans, who served as the FBI's acting special agent in charge of the El Paso division and oversaw investigations of the Juárez drug cartel, said the capture of Guzman is important, but will not have an immediate impact on drug violence.

"His capture is good news for Mexico, the United States, and especially to the citizens of Juárez who have paid dearly for his involvement in the drug wars that have brought such death and suffering to our sister city," Evans said. "While the violence will not stop overnight, his capture reinforces that progress is being made."

DEA officials said that Guzman is wanted on charges of conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, money laundering and criminal forfeiture. He was indicted in El Paso and charged with 14 counts, including violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, known as RICO.

The arrest of Guzman comes after the capture or deaths of several top Sinaloa operatives in the past few months and at least 10 mid-level cartel members in the past week, the AP reported. The arrests included the son of Sinaloa's co-leader and Guzman's partner, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who was arrested in November after entering the U.S. through Arizona, the AP reports.

Zambada's main lieutenant was killed by Mexican helicopter gunships at his mansion in the Gulf of California resort of Puerto Penasco in a four-hour gunbattle, the AP reported.

In the 1980s, the DEA said in a statement, Guzman was associated with Miguel Angel Felix-Gallardo, a major drug trafficker in Mexico at the time. Guzman eventually created his own international criminal enterprise.

There was a more than $5 million reward offered for Guzman.

Guzman is known for his use of a sophisticated tunnel located in Douglas, Ariz., to smuggle cocaine into the United States in the early 1990s, the DEA said. In 1993, a 7.3 ton load of his cocaine, concealed in cans of chili peppers was seized in Tecate, Baja California Norte, Mexico.

Also that year, a more sophisticated tunnel — from Tijuana, Baja California Norte, Mexico, to the Otay Mesa, Calif., area — was discovered. The next month, the DEA said, Guzman was arrested in Mexico on homicide and drug charges.

In January 2001, he escaped from a maximum security prison in Mexico and regained full control of his international drug-trafficking organization, DEA officials said.

Forbes listed Guzman as one of the world's richest and most powerful men, and Chicago authorities called him the city's public enemy No. 1, due to the volume of illicit drugs belonging to Guzman that flooded the streets.

"The U.S. authorities need to request his immediate extradition to the United States," said Phil Jordan, former director of the El Paso Intelligence Center.

"If he remains in Mexico, in a jail there, he could eventually escape as he did before and with the help of authorities."

Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at 546-6140. The Associated Press contributed to this story.

About Guzman

Name: Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman Loera.

Age: 56; Born April 4, 1957.

Home: Since slipping out of prison in 2001 in a laundry truck, he was rumored to live everywhere from Argentina to Guatemala to almost every corner of Mexico. He was reported to move around frequently, using private aircraft, bulletproof SUVs and all-terrain vehicles.

Early career: Guzman grew up poor and was drawn to the money made by the flow of illegal drugs through his home state of Sinaloa. He allegedly joined the Guadalajara cartel run by Miguel Angel Felix-Gallardo and rose quickly through the ranks. After Gallardo was arrested in 1989, the gang split and Guzman allegedly took control of Sinaloa's operations. Gunmen linked to the Tijuana-based Arrellano Felix cartel attempted to assassinate Guzman at the Guadalajara airport in 1993, but instead killed Roman Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo.